Giro Empire Men's Road Bike, Triathlon/Aero Shoes

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For a shoe that appears to have minimal ventilation the Empires left us pleasantly surprised. The combination of perforated upper and vented sole enabled our feet to breathe, and the air flow – which increased considerably at speed – was certainly enough for sweltering days. Support where you need it The laces also pose a problem for mid-ride adjustments; it’s not possible to loosen or tighten them without pulling over and sitting down. But we found, barring the first ride, that we didn’t need to make adjustments – owing in part to what Giro calls the ‘spillover effect’. Room to manoeuvre The upper is light and airy but somehow tough enough for gravel racing. The laces aren't adjustable mid-ride but the stretch and low-structure upper mean they don't need to be. There are other lace up shoes but none of them are as light, and light shoes on your constantly moving feet feel great.

The insoles are infused with X-Static silver fibres, which we found defended odour well. Because the fibres are woven into the foot bed, the antimicrobial properties are permanent, so will not wash away like some coatings and treatments do. Dampening enthusiasm? This is then thermally welded together to create an upper with a single seam that runs down the heel on the outside and away from your foot. So the internal of the Imperial is smooth, seam-free and, as a result, should be more comfortable. The lace-up, one-piece uppers do a fantastic job of conforming to your feet and accommodate a wide range of shapes, provided your feet aren’t overly wide Weighing in at 504g (for a pair of EU44), the Empire’s may not be a weight weenies dream. But they’re competitive to similar offerings from Sidi, and Specialized. These shoes are compatible with MTB pedal systems, which use cleats with 2-bolt cleats (SPD standard), e.g.: Shimano SPD, Time ATAC, CrankBrothers, CrankBrothers Race, Look MTB, Xtreme MTB, Wellgo MTB, Ritchey MTB. Also suitable for indoor trainers in gyms etc

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To prevent your laces from coming untied while you ride, the shoes come with Giro's Tubular woven laces, and an ingenious lace garage on the tongue keeps them safe from hungry chainrings.

The laces themselves are light years ahead of the cotton laces of old – there's no chance of these breaking or even of stretching over time. The top two sets of eyelets are metal reinforced while the one piece 'Evofiber' microfiber upper is non-stretch as well, which all adds up to a fit that stays consistent from first use to last, in the dry or in the wet. Giro have included a little elastic loop halfway down the tongue to keep the laces neat and tidy and out of the chainrings. Those with OCD will have fun getting everything to look just so. While the rest of the world found themselves drawn to the Giro lace up shoes when a young, potential saviour of American cycling put them into road cycling race reports, I wasn't paying attention. Ten years later when another American phenom, Keegan Swenson, was again using Giro lace ups, this time for gravel racing, I still wasn't paying much attention. Instead, it was seven years ago watching the impossibly cool, slightly older Taylor Phinney hike through the snow in Therabout Reprise with Cam Wurf, Gus Morton, and Lachlan Morton. The four friends weren't racing but seeing Phinney with his bright coloured laces wrapped around the centre of his Giro shoes is a memory I haven't forgotten.

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Included with the supernatural fit insoles are three separate arch supports that attach via velcro : Colin Levitch / Future Publishing Phinney wanted the laces because he was looking for a way to keep his shoes as aero as possible. I'm not aware of any wind tunnel testing I can point to but laces minimise bumps and protrusions and Bradley Wiggins seemed to see some value in the design given he chose them for his hour record. It's also relatively easy to cover the actual laces which is something Swenson did, using a chopped up arm warmer, when he won the 2023 Leadville 100 mountain bike race. There's also another advantage to the laces though and that's what the SLX version of the Empire leans into. There were also initial worries about how to adjust the shoes’ fit during a ride but even that turned out to be a non-issue – at least provided you’re not a racer who likes to cinch your shoes down before a big sprint finish or climb. Simply take the time to dial in the fit before heading out and they stay comfortable for hours on end with virtually no loosening or hot spots even after six hours in the saddle. We noted just a bit of stretching during the first few rides but it’s been smooth sailing since then with no further shape changes noted, even after long rides in the rain. Keeping the carbon sole flat allows for what giro calls the ‘spillover effect’ : Colin Levitch / Future Publishing

Giro quietly entered the shoe market in 2010 with a four-pronged product line-up comprising the Prolight SLX, Factor, Trans and Espada (women-specific). Giro’s strategy, based around lightweight materials, dynamic designs and affordability, helped it secure a significant slice of the market in a very short space of time. When Giro first launched the Empire, it was the first shoe in decades to use laces instead of velcro, ratchets, or BOA dials. Initially many scoffed at the idea, but now just about every brand has its own modern version of the lace up cycling shoe. The Empire SLX is an evolution of the original shoe designed in collaboration with former pro Taylor Phinney, which uses a one-piece, monofilament, Synch Wire Mesh upper, providing plenty of airflow, complete with welded TPU panels for structure. Putting power down is easy thanks to the pro-level Easton® EC90 full carbon outsole, keeping you moving forward with no wasted watts. At some point, when you’re off-road you’ll be off the bike and pushing and here the moulded Vibram® rubber tread digs in and offers fabulous grip. For particularly muddy days the sole is compatible with toe spikes too. Too often, shoe companies neglect to include a well-designed footbed – a key contributor to both comfort and performance – so it's good to see that Giro have put in the effort here and haven't cut costs by including a super thin insole with barely any support. Not only does a well-supported foot reduce the risk of injuries in key joints such as the knees, but it also reduces the chances of hot spots developing due to the pressure being distributed over a wider area of the foot.

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This article begins by talking about how anomalous the Giro Empire SLX is because of its time on the market. I said it because there's no getting around that fact but that's not the only thing that makes the Empire SLX an anomaly. It's also an anomaly because of everything it can do. By keeping the the outsole of the shoe flat, not rolling it up around the edge of the upper allows for your foot to spill over the edge of the shoe. This means that when your foot expands, whether that’s from pedaling or foot swelling, it’s not pushing up against carbon, thereby eliminating hot spots and pressure points. While this comes at the cost of lateral support, the added support from the footbeds more than compensates. The Velcro strap featured on Giro’s first range-topping shoe, the Prolight SLX. Apart from the obvious weight savings they offer, the straps do tend stretch over time and the Velcro is prone to contamination. Where things really differ between the Empire and the Empire SLX is the design of the upper. While the Empire uses Teijin Samo microfibre upper to support the seven pairs of lace holes, the SLX shoe uses Teijin Evofiber SL Microfiber. The point here is to drastically save weight. The lightweight, highly ventilated design is not only the difference between the Empire and the Empire SLX but also the biggest update that came in 2019.